A writers gotta write.

Okay. I need to maintain a high distinction average to be successful. I have to do everything by the books. I have to be comfortable with what I am doing. I don’t want to end up with nothing…

Then BCM311 came along.

Narrative practice and therapy has proven to be a productive exuberant environment where I have gained a wealth of knowledge about myself. Most degree’s don’t give students the opportunity to learn about themselves, this information was so far reaching, it will define my values as I leave university for the workforce in a couple of years.

I write stories. I’ve written stories for the past thirteen weeks, not to be marked but to be seen, to be heard and to be thought about. Their materialistic value is not important to me, but the value of each and every singular word is of great presence.

These words made me become vulnerable, made me share experiences which I have not revisited since they occurred. It was tough but extremely rewarding to find personal narrative as an outlet for expression.

Navigating through a class which elicits these feelings of fear, vulnerability and weakness allows the understanding of prominent strengths and values. These values being so far-reaching as to propel and drive me to make decisions which I would not have otherwise.

It would be right to say that krisesandchrosses is a personification of my feelings, words and thoughts. To write with authenticity, feeling and emotion was quintessential to understanding who I am as a writer and what drives my decisions for experiences. I began to understand this separation between the personal and professional and sought to challenge this disingenuous nature between ourselves and online persona.

As we craft our online persona, the ability to access this information becomes ever more present from employers who wish to see our online personalities as they may hide secrets to who we are. This begs the question of ‘why are we not already authentic.’ If we curate our content on social media to become a façade of an individual, can we really stand up for the values we say we hold?

It has influenced me to think about where I will be going in the future, what I will ask of my employer instead of them asking me. Being authentic as to who I am as an individual and striving for nothing less then the best. I will not be curating an online presence, but we staying true to my ideologies, opinions and values without the fear of oppression.

The thing about public writing is that we will never be able to write without feeling this vulnerability and fear that someone will denounce our own stories. It is rough waters to venture out into without the clear light of a lighthouse illuminating the dark forces of the night. With prevalent issues such as rape, domestic violence, mental health and death being crafted into these narratives, the boundaries between what is meant to be shared and what is meant to be kept quiet is blurred.

Of course we have secrets, we all do. What I am saying is that we are authentic with our values, what we have learnt from these experiences and how we put them into practice within the professional field and industry that is important.

How do we craft our stories from here? The same way we always have, with authenticity as writers.

“A writers gotta write.”

~krisesandchrosses~